RPM Reporter - Freeze Festival

There was a whole host of brand activity at this year's Freeze Festival, the most impressive being Nike's chill-out Lodge, Jagermeister's Ice Bar and Three Mobile's Jump OnBoard Bus. Other brands embracing experiential marketing were Vitamin Water, Desperados, ActionAid and LG Mobile.

Nike's Lodge was designed to resemble the interior and ambience of a ski lodge, with interactive games, a pool table, comfortable sofas, and computers upon which people could browse through different shoe designs. The lodge was full to the brim during the day, and looked great; Nike shoes were displayed all over the trendy interiors, which was a good use of subtle branding.

Jagermeister's Ice Bar, placed near the entrance, allowed people to buy a shot and drink it upstairs in the frosted, ice-cold bar. There was also a heated terrace upon which people were chilling out and which gave a great view of the ski ramp. Back on the floor, LG Mobile recruited photo marketing company Say Cheese to mill around throughout the festival, taking photos of groups of friends or individuals that were then instantly printed and able to be retrieved from the saycheese.co.uk website. LG also had a stand whereby friends were asked to pose in front of a faux ski backdrop and once again, after logging in online, you were able to download the photos.

Three Mobile's Jump OnBoard Bus was surrounded by a heated garden and offered you the chance to 'jump on board' and try out their new Smart Phone. The bus aims to help spread the word about the benefits of using the mobile internet on Three, and the area came equipped with DJ and waffle stand. The bus has toured festivals throughout the summer, and you can follow its progress on the Three Mobile Blog.

Desperados had a small dance arena, which had its own DJ line-up and small seating area. I wasn't overly impressed with this. There was nothing that particularly set it apart from any other music-related brand activity, and it certainly didn't compare to the Strongbow Bowtime Bar! Something tells me I'm somewhat biased though, and perhaps the budget was limited. I still felt they could do more with the entertainment aspect to it. Perhaps some live French bands would have been more engaging? Yes, Desperados is actually French, not Mexican!

Last but not least, ActionAid was continuing its 'Bollocks To Poverty' tour, which has previously been seen at Global Gathering, by asking people to pose in front of their faux NMH (No More Hunger) magazine background holding up anti-poverty banners. The photos are then able to be downloaded online. Bollocks To Poverty is ActionAid's youth arm; in their words, "We want you to ditch the guilt and say bollocks to poverty by doing something you love. Whether it’s through music, art, activism or shopping, there’s loads of ways to say bollocks to poverty."

All round there was some good brand activity keeping people engaged, on their feet and immersed in each brand.